My second year much better than first

  • 18 Aug 2021 5:58 PM
    Reply # 10940653 on 10935414
    Deleted user

    I have been reading that this is the time to do mite counts so I did one today on my hive that I suspected most. It is a double deep with a medium super which did not produce as well as my other hives.  I scooped up my half cup of bees I shook off a frame of brood.  While I was at it I dug all the way down to the bottom board and most of the brood had moved up into the second level and mostly honey and empty brood frames in the bottom hive so I moved all the brood back down and put the honey frames in the second level.  A bee got in my bonnet and I felt it crawling on my neck.  I crushed the unfortunate warrior bee.  I went inside and had the wife check me for bees while I waited for them to settle down a few minutes. I think the dog got ahold of a bee somehow because he was acting strange and pawing at his nose. 


    I went back out and put everything back together and did my mite wash.  I got 5 mites.  I had read of a guy who after the alcohol wash puts water back into the container and makes sure all the mites are washed away from the bees. I did that and got 5 or 6 more mites.  I am planning to do a Maqs treatment as soon as I can get some.

  • 16 Aug 2021 1:28 PM
    Message # 10935414
    Deleted user

    I ended up with two hives this winter and spring from the nuke I bought the year before.  I started feeding last fall and then also early spring.  One of my hives swarmed.  I caught the swarm, put it into a nuke box and then let the original hive requeen itself naturally.  After that I was worried about my other hive that had not swarmed so I dug into it and made some splits with queen cells I found.  Now I have 5 hives and they seem to be all going ok.  I have extracted 5 gallons of honey and some honey comb.  I'm happy with that.  Yay :)

    I suspect I started feeding too early in the spring which may have caused the swarming.  The bee learning curve is quite a challenge.


    

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